ABOUT US
Principia is a global strategic brand consultancy specialising in supercharging the brands of premium b2b and professional service firms.
We use brand for transformation — not decoration.
We have unrivalled expertise and experience working with the world’s leading b2b and professional service firms to strengthen their brand reputation and ignite strategic growth.
Brands are much more than logos – we work with our clients to define a brand platform that brings their strategy to life, defines their proposition, and inspires actions — both inside and outside the firm — that change market perceptions and drive demand.
Premium b2b and professional service firms with strong brands are 2-3 times more profitable than their peers. This is the North Star that drives our evidence and insight-driven methodoligies.
We’re specialists in a world of generalists.
Our sweet spot is helping leaders of premium b2b and professional service firms get their arms around their brand strategy — transforming it from a passive wrapper for services into an active engine for strategic growth.
Our work sets them up with a clear brand strategy that will power their marketing programmes for at least a decade and often much longer.
Premium b2b and professional service firms can be tough to navigate — but we know how — we’ve worked with hundreds of them. From huge, global organisations operating across every continent and every major economy, to boutiques operating from one location.
PEOPLE
Ian Stephens
FOUNDER AND CEO
Ian is Principia’s Founder and CEO. He is the trusted advisor on branding to leaders of many of the world’s most prestigious international b2b and professional service firms across a range of sectors including law, consulting, strategy, technology, engineering, and innovation.
A strategist by background, Ian leads all of Principia’s client engagements, working with the firm’s team of consultants and designers to deliver projects from research and brand strategy development through to design, messaging, and implementation of key applications.
His client experience in professional services and knowledge-intensive B2B sectors includes law firms: Ashurst, Baker McKenzie, Covington, Debevoise, Linklaters, Mayer Brown, Weil, and White & Case; management consulting firms: PWC, KPMG, and PA Consulting and architectural and technology firms: Arup, Johnson Matthey, and Perkins Eastman.
His work has taken him all around the world’s commercial and money centres interviewing buyers of professional services at FTSE and Fortune 100 companies and advising partners on how to position their firms to gain long-term competitive advantage.
Ian’s clients have commented that his stand-out strength is in his ability to “step up in front of a room full of senior leaders and take them through a meaningful discussion on branding” and “engage even the most skeptical individuals”. His approach is said to be “thoughtful and jargon-free and highly focused on developing consensus.”
Recognised as a global leader in his field, Ian frequently writes and comments on branding issues for major publications and institutions. He is also regarded as a strong public speaker; once sharing a conference platform with President Bill Clinton (although to be honest the President almost certainly wasn’t aware he was sharing it with Ian!) and is also frequently invited to make keynote speeches and presentations at firms’ annual retreats on the subject of branding and innovation.
Prior to founding Principia, Ian was Global Managing Partner of Saffron Brand Consultants from 2006 to 2016 and Principal of Wolff Olins from 1999 to 2006.